AUBURN – The Auburn Water District will get state help testing the winds along Lake Auburn’s western shore to see if they can be used to generate electricity.

The Auburn Water District will place a wind gauge along the lake shore and behind the pump station buildings, just north of Central Maine Community College.

The gauge, called an anemometer, is being loaned by the Maine Public Utilities Commission. A second state wind gauge is being loaned to Portland’s school district for a similar test.

The Auburn test will be managed by the University of Maine. Students from the university will install the wind gauge on a 100-foot tall tower and monitor it, studying wind patterns along the lake for the next year. They should issue a report in 2009 on whether putting a power-generating turbine there makes sense.

Good sites for generating wind energy typically have average wind speeds of about 13 mph.

The study is also looking for sites that have a high demand for electricity.A computer model shows annual average winds are faster than 13 mph along Lake Auburn. The district’s nearby water pump station has a built-in electrical system that can handle 500 kilowatts on site without needing additional work. The district budgets for more than 1 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually, about $100,000 a year.